Saving Me
by snowflakebeliever97
Summary: Since they were kids Luke has been Alex's best friend. And her secret crush. Needless to say she's more than heartbroken when he turns out be a traitor. When they meet again Alex ends up prisoner on the Princess Andromeda. And though she acts hateful towards him she isn't willing to give up on him yet. But she considers joining him, after a surprising confession from Luke's side...
1. Chapter 1: My Name is Luke

**ok so here we go with one of my first published fanfictions**

**I only own my oc's**

**The Percy Jackson series and it's characters are owned by Rick Riordan**

**If I owned it, Luke would still be alive…. :( **

**Well whatever…. Review, subscribe….**

**Enjoy! **

Chapter 1: My Name is Luke

[Alex's POV]

I was running. As fast as I could. But it wasn't fast enough. I could hear the heavy footsteps gaining on me. I took as many turns as I could, because I had encountered this creature before. They were fast, but not very agile. Left, right, over a fence and right through a hedge, but the stupid thing just wouldn't slow down! It didn't take long until I completely lost my orientation and felt like I was running in circles. And the heavy rain that was pouring down and soaking me to the bone wasn't helping the matters at all. I could turn how often or how fast I wanted, the monster stayed close at my heels. And of course it didn't take me long until I ended up at a dead end. I frantically looked around for any kind of exit, when I heard a blood chilling growl behind me. I froze. I could hear the creature's harsh panting and smell it's disgusting breath. I nearly gagged at the stench of rotten flesh that now seemed to fill up the entire small alleyway I ended up in. I slowly turned to face the monster and unconsciously took a step backwards. It's red eyes glowed in the dark, they seemed to burn right into my soul and hold me in place at the same time. Then it stepped into the circle of light, created by the only street lamp in the alley. It's was about the size of of a rhino. It's black fur was dirty, messy and had dried as well as fresh red streaks in it. Blood. I shuddered at the thought of how it had gotten there. And whose it may be. It's four paws were peppered with four razor sharp claws each. It growled again, baring it's ugly, blood crusted teeth. It took a step towards me and I took one back. It came close, I backed away. Well, at least until my back was pressed against a solid brick wall. It's muzzle was now mere inches away from my face. And I did the stupidest thing I could to in that situation: I screamed. "HELP!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, again and again. Honestly, I had no idea what else to do. By now I was cowering on my knees, the monster hovering above me. This wasn't the first time I ran into a spawn of the underworld. But I was pretty sure that this would be the last...

[Luke's POV]

We barely made it to the town's edge. The hellhound that had been following us suddenly abandoned the chase and ran off into a different direction. Hades knows why. The one thing I knew was, that it had saved our butts. "Ok what the... I never experienced a monster abandoning a meal consisting of three half bloods and half a goat?" Thalia said. "Hey!" Grover complained. "Am I so wrong?!" Thalia snapped. "Hey!" I interrupted. "Could you two maybe talk this out later? I don't know why this thing left us alone either, but it gives us a huge advantage, so let's get moving!" "He's right!" Annabeth agreed. Let's get outta here!" So we all turned on our heels, facing the woods surrounding the town, ready to make a run for it. And that was when I heard it. "HELP!" The voice certainly belonged to a girl. And she was most certainly in trouble. "Guys, did you hear that?" I asked. I didn't need an answer. I could tell from their faces that they heard it too. Thalia shook it off first. "Doesn't matter. We need to go _now_." I stared at her like she'd gone nuts."Wha- You're kidding, right? Don't you get it? That must be the reason the hellhound left us alone. Another demigod! We ha-" "I am very well aware of that Luke, but she isn't our responsibility meaning her problems aren't ours." Thalia cut in. "We were the ones that brought the hellhound here. Just because of us she is in this situation!" I snapped. Honestly, I had no idea why I took this girl's side. I didn't even know her! But I just had the feeling that we – or I – needed to help her...

"Yes and now that monster isn't our problem anymore. So let's get going while the going's good, alright?" Thalia said and turned. "So you're just going to use an innocent half-blood we don't even know to save your own ass?" I asked. She didn't react. I turned to the other two. "C'mon guys! You know I'm right! We have to help her!" Both of them had their gazes strained to the ground. "Luke... we barely made it out and if we run in there now... well, I just don't think _any _of us will get out alive..." Annabeth said sheepishly. In my desperation I turned to the satyr next to her. "Grover? Come on! Isn't it your job to find half-bloods and get them to camp safely? I mean-" That was when a thought hit me like a brick. "Wait a minute... You already knew there was another one of us in this town, didn't you?" Grover continued to stare at the ground. "Didn't you?!" I shouted. "Yeah, I did, okay?" he cried. "But... I'm already taking the highest risk by taking you and Annabeth with me, so..." I stared at all of them in complete bewilderment. I couldn't believe it! The first lesson you learn as one of us, is that half-bloods have only each other. And yet this conversation was pointless! They were going to leave her behind...

And she was running out of time! Her screaming had continued while we argued. And I couldn't tell what it was, but... There was something so heartbreaking in it. And I mean that, if I wouldn't be able to save her, not be able to see her, hear her voice, get to meet her – then my heart would break...

Gods, this was crazy! Was I really willing to risk my life for a girl I'd never met? And immediately after I asked myself that, I got my answer: Yes.

I was dragged out of my thoughts when Annabeth grabbed my hand. "Luke, please let's just go. We can't do anything for her..." I looked down at her and something on her belt caught my eye. The object was glinting in the little light the street lamp was creating. And on it's own, my mind finished a plan how to get out of there with an appropriate weapon. (Oh think I forgot to mention that my weapon is a golf club – not very affective against monsters... Long story...) I looked away from Annabeth, seemingly considering her words. "You... you're probably right. I'm sorry. I just... I dunno. We should just-" I ripped the dagger from it's sheath around her waist and sprinted towards the screaming, away from my friends. I heard them calling after me, but they didn't follow.

Why? Well, one of the little perks of being a son of Hermes, is that I'm _really _fast. My dad is the messenger of the gods after all. He has to be fast. And luckily most of his children share that ability.

I ran through dark alleys, past closed shops and a few dimly lit houses, all the while cursing the rain that pouring down. The girl was still screaming for help and I hoped she would continue. It was my only chance of finding her. And if it stopped... I didn't even wanna think about it. And for once in my life I actually prayed to the gods. I prayed that I wouldn't be too late. After what seemed like forever, I finally reached the alley where the screaming was coming from. I still couldn't see the girl though. The damned hellhound blocked my view. "HELP! PLEASE!" I could clearly hear the terror and fright in her voice. If you think now that I wasn't scared right there and then – you couldn't be any more wrong. I was scared as hell, but I swallowed my fear and shouted "Hey! You oversized Chihuahua!" Immediately the monster's head snapped around and it fixated me with it's blood colored eyes. I clutched the dagger in my hand, knuckles turning white. "Remember me? I was your original plan for dinner. What happened? Was I suddenly not tasty enough for you?" By now the creature had completely turned around to my. I needed to think! Okay, so positive: In this cramped it wouldn't be able to move much, so I should be able to land a few hits. Negative: one rhino sized monster with razor sharp claws and teeth against a tired, bruised 14-year old half-blood with a little celestial bronze dagger. What could possibly go wrong?

Before I could think any farther, the thing charged at me, but I was able to jump out of the way, pressing myself against the left brick wall. I quickly struck it with my dagger, causing an injury in it's side. It growled in anger and pain and lashed at me with with it's claws, but I was out of reach and it's bruised side was causing it too much pain to turn around. I sent a few more hits to the hellhound's body, but none of them at the right places or deep enough to send it back to Tartarus. And then I made my mistake: I got too close to one of it's front paws and the thing was able to knock me to the ground, placing it's paw on my chest, making it nearly impossible for me to breathe. And of course I had to lose Annabeth's dagger in the process. I tried to grab it but all I could do was feel around on the wet concrete. I had no idea where it hand ended up. The hellhound growled and bared it's teeth, preparing to rip my throat out. Suddenly I heard a weird noise, like a clattering, or metal scraping aginst rock. And just like that the dagger was back in my hand. I had no idea what had just happened and I couldn't care less. I didn't waste any time.I held the dagger in an iron grip and rammed it into the creature's head as hard as I could. It howled as it disintegrated into a pile of green powder. For the longest time I just lay on the hard ground, calming my breathing. Then I slowly sat up onto my elbows and blinked a few times to get the hellhound-powder out of my eyes.

All of a sudden it hit me, why I even had been in this life threatening situation. My eyes snapped open and I whipped my head to the girl I had just saved. She had a hood pulled over her head, so I couldn't make out her face. She crouched on the ground and had one hand stretched out on the concrete, like she'd just grabbed something- oh man, of course! That's how I got the dagger back – she helped me... Yet when she saw me staring at her, she immediately backed away until her back was pressed against the wall behind her and drew her knees up to her chin and wrapping her arms around her legs, seemingly trying to protect herself. I tried to get up but a stinging pain in my chest prevented me from it. With all the adrenaline cursing through my veins I didn't notice it until now, but with the effects of it wearing off I could clearly feel it. I looked down to see my shirt ripped on the right side and taking an even closer look I saw a little patch of red starting to from on it. "Great..." I muttered before somehow hoisting myself back onto my feet and turning my gaze back to the girl in front of me. She hadn't moved but under the hood I could see her eyes following my every movement. "It's okay. You don't have to be scared. I'm not going to hurt you." I said calmly. For a second her eyes shot to my right hand, then back up to my eyes. I looked down and realized that I was still holding the dagger. I had to admit the whole _"I'm-not-going-to-hurt-you"_ thing wasn't so believable while approaching her with a weapon, so I quickly laid the dagger down to the ground and held my hands up in surrender. "See? I'm here to help. In fact, I just saved your life." I said. "Without me, we both would be dog food now." she answered. I stared at her for a second. Did she just get all obviously-sarcastic on the guy that saved her life? I shook my head slightly before asking "Are you hurt?" She examined her body quickly before shaking her head. "No, I don't think so." "You're sure?" I asked as I knelt down in front of her, trying to pull her arms away from her legs, to make sure she was alright. But she only stiffened at my touch and tried to back away even farther. "I'm fine" she bit out. By now I was close enough to get a look at her face. A snub nose, red from the cold. A few strands of wavy dark hair were clinging to her reddened cheeks, a few hanging out from the hood of the hoodie jacket she was wearing. It almost looked black in the semi-darkness, but I could just see enough to tell that it was actually a dark chocolate brown. But the thing that caught my attention most were her eyes. Blue. A light blue, that almost seemed to glow in the dark. And a ring of darker blue surrounding her irises, every streak that reached towards her pupils another shade of blue. They were absolutely stunning. And it was like looking into a mirror. They looked exactly like mine. "What the Hades...? I breathed. I could tell from the look in her eyes that she was wondering about the same thing. "Wh-What's your name?" I asked

[Alex's POV]

"Wh-What's your name?" the boy asked. Just about a minute ago he had shown up out of nowhere and saved my life. He looked around my age – fourteen – had some freckles over his nose and sandy blonde hair that was clinging to his forehead from the rain. But when I was finally able to see his eyes in the dark, my breath hitched in my throat. They were like an exact copy of my own...

After blinking a few times to make sure my imagination wasn't just playing tricks on me, I realized he had asked me a question. "I-I'm Alexandra Singer, but you-you can call me Alex." I answered and gave him a tiny smile. "Who a-are you?" He smiled at me. "My name is Luke. Luke Castellan."


	2. Chapter 2: New half-blood, new trouble

**A/N: ok guys first of all I want to thank all the writers who followed and favorited. I'm still pretty new, so to me, every single one and (may it be so few) means a lot.**

**mallorijohnson7**

**kitsune-miko-witch **

**missEMbear**

**Cordillia Bennet**

**abc123pie**

**Next point is that there's like a pretty big time jump between chapter 1 and 2 but don't worry! I'm gonna reveal more of their past later in the story.**

**And I also should say that I changed the age of the characters. At the moment the plot is set during the Lightning Thief. Alex and Luke are 17, Percy, Annabeth and all the others their age are now 14. Just so you know.**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 2: New half-blood, new trouble

(3 years later)

[Alex's POV]

Clear sky, sun shining. Perfect day for practice. Honestly, I don't need much to be in a good mood. My bow, a quiver of arrows and some music are all I really need. If you're wonder about a combination like that… well, let's just say it's in my blood. My dad is Apollo. Yup, you heard right. _The _Apollo. Greek god of archery, poetry, music, medicine and some other stuff. But that's not very interesting now, is it?

However, when I reached the archery stands, there already were a few other campers training, mainly my brothers and sisters. I pulled my iPod – along with my headphones – out of my pocket, put my phones in and turned on some rock music, full volume. As weird as that may sound, I can concentrate best when drums and guitars are blaring in my ears. I walked to nearest free stand, but instead of grabbing any of the archery equipment, I simply made my own bow and quiver appear in my hands. How did I do that? Ask me something I know, because I have no idea how this works. Apparently I'm the only of Apollo's kids who's able to do that. But honestly: I couldn't care less. It is very practical and has come in handy more than once.

I shot a few regular targets, always hitting the bull's eye. But practices like that are a piece of cake for all Apollo kids. I put another arrow into the bowstring, ready to shoot my last target before moving on to the more difficult ones, when somebody tapped me on the shoulder from behind. I whirled around, bow still ready and the tip of my arrow pointing straight at the person's heart. But when I saw my best friend standing in the fire line – hands held up in surrender, his shock mostly covered by the amused grin on his lips – I immediately lowered my bow and ripped my phones out of my ears. "What the Hades?!" I shouted. "Do you have something like a death wish, Castellan?!" He chuckled and dropped his arms to his sides. "I've been your friend for over three years now. If that isn't a death wish already, I don't know what is." I gave him a good punch in the shoulder, but I still couldn't help but smile. Mainly because I knew he was right: I had gotten us into a lot of trouble from time to time…

"What do you want Luke?" I asked. "After your last performance here, I thought you wouldn't show up here again in like… ever?" "Oh, c'mon! Will you ever let this go?" he complained. "You ran me through with a freakin' arrow!" I cried. "So, no, I will never let this go." I finished with a smug grin. He gave me a playful scowl before gesturing to his side. Until now, I didn't even realize there was someone with him. Yet, on his left side, a young boy was standing. He looked around 14 years old, had messy black hair and sea green eyes. "This is Percy Jackson." Luke said. "He's Hermes' new cabin mate." "Regular or undetermined?" "Undetermined." "Ouch. Sorry about that kiddo." I told him. He just shrugged. "Not like I care about my dad." Well that sounded kinda familiar…

"However" Luke continued. "That's why I brought him here. I thought he could be one of Apollo's kids." He then turned to Percy. "by the way, that's Alexandra, but -" I punched him again. "You know, I'M already starting to regret I didn't shoot you!" I threatened playfully. "Ow! Would you stop that?! And maybe let me finish my sentence?" he cried. "What I was about to say was, if you don't wanna end up with an arrow in your butt, you better call her Alex. There. Happy?" I grinned. "Yup." He rolled his eyes but smiled. "Ok, so I gotta head back to the arena for practice, but I'll check on you guys later." "Pff, like you need to practice sword fighting." I said. He grinned. "Like you need to practice archery." I chuckled. "Touché. I'll see you later." Luke smiled at me before waving good bye and heading back to the arena. I looked at his disappearing from a little longer than necessary, then I turned to Percy. "So, let's see how good you are with bow and arrows, alright?" He blushed. "Eh, actually, that's what I've been trying to tell Luke all along – this is a very bad idea. I tried archery once and I pretty much suck at it." "Well, maybe that has changed. You won't know unless you try. What reminds me: on which gods did you check already?" He thought for a moment. "Well, I know my mom, so we're focusing on the male gods. And Luke told me that it can't be one of the… the… Damnit! What did he call it?" "The Big Three?" I guessed. "Yeah, that's it. Because of some kind of oath they made or something…" I nodded in understanding." "And it can't be Mr D. I would hang myself in that case anyway…" "So you already met our camp director?" I asked while fighting the grin that made it's way onto my face. "Oh yeah…" Percy answered. Then he shook his head, like he was trying to get rid of a bad memory. "It can't be Hermes either and we didn't check on anything else." "Wait – why can't it be Hermes?" I asked. He didn't look like a Hermes kid to me, but you could never know. "He looked at the ground and wouldn't meet my eyes. "Because I lost a race against a wood nymph…" I had to bite back a laugh. "You – you do know that's like losing a race a tree, right?" "Yes, I do. Luke told me – after he was done laughing…" Now I just couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, that sounds like him." I said. "Are you two together?" He suddenly asked out of nowhere. "Eh – what?" I said, completely caught off guard. "You know, like a couple, boyfriend, girlfriend, that kind of stuff?" he said. "Eh, yeah… I-I mean no, I mean…" I stuttered. I mentally facepalmed. "No we're not. Luke saved my life and brought me here when we were kids. We've been best friends ever since." I answered. And immediately hated the sound of it. It was all true, yes, but that didn't mean it was the way I wanted it to be… "Why do you ask?" I wanted to know. "Just curious." He shrugged. "You two kinda look like you could make a good couple, so…" _'Oh, you don't say…'_ I thought, before shaking my head, trying to clear my mind. Then I grabbed a bow and a quiver and handed them to Percy with a smile. "Now, let's see if you really are _that _bad."

[Luke's POV]

I returned to the archery stands about an hour later. And I was expecting anything. From a war zone to Alex trying to strangle Percy for (accidentally) shooting her with an arrow. But when I found them, I was left completely startled: They were sitting under an old oak tree – talking. "You know" I started when I reached them "I don't know much about this stuff, but I'm pretty sure that's _not_ how you do archery." Alex smiled. "Yeah, well, we gave up on that… pretty much after his first shot." I blinked. "Eh – what?" She laughed and I realized I must have had a pretty dumbfounded expression on my face. "He's even worse than you." I turned to Percy. "No way." "Hey, I've tried to warn you! We could've prevented a lot of people from getting hurt, if you would've listened to me…" he said miserably. I could tell Alex was trying really hard not to laugh. "He managed to get three campers into the infirmary by shooting one arrow." "How –" I began, but stopped myself. "Do I even wanna know?" Percy shook his head. "Probably not…" "Hey listen, Percy and I had time to talk and… well I think he can only be a kid of the minor gods. If he wasn't sitting here right next to me, I'd say he isn't a demigod at all." "Oh thanks for the fuel of confidence…" Percy said, but I wasn't really paying attention anymore. If they couldn't figure out his Olympian parent, could that mean… Could he be… No! Alex was right. He was just some kid, forgotten by the gods like so many others…

Just then I noticed that Alex was waving a hand in front of my face. "Hello? Luke? You're still with us?" I blinked. I didn't even realize I had zoned out this long. "What? I mean – yeah sure, just… thinking." "About what?" she asked. "Oh well, just… that you're probably gonna have to stay in the Hermes cabin a little longer than a while. Sorry kid." I said. Percy shrugged and smiled. "Doesn't matter. Actually I like it there." I gave him a surprised look. "Sure, it may be crowded, but you're pretty much the only friends – next to Grover – I've had in years. Or well, maybe not friends but at least people who are being nice to me." "Lemme guess: You're too much trouble – even for schools for "troubled kids" – so you got kicked out of more than a few schools?" Alex said bitterly. "Yeah pretty much." he answered. "Common demigod problem." I said. "Just as bad as the family issues." Just then the conch horn blew, signalizing time for dinner. I hadn't even noticed how late it had gotten. "Ok, so – who's hungry?" I asked, switching back to my façade. The happy and carefree attitude I actually had once. Before I went on that quest… But now that was all show, hiding the guy the truth had turned me into…

"Sure, I'm starving!" Alex said. "But… hey Percy, I still need to check around this place to see if all the arrows are back in the quivers and stuff, and it's a lot of ground to cover, so Luke will help me – " "I will?" "Yes! So – you think you can find back to the dining pavilion yourself?" "Eh… I don't – I mean, I…" he stuttered and Alex chuckled. "It's fine. It took me a damn week before I finally had _some _sense of direction in this camp. Hang on, lemme just – ah, there he is!" She brought to fingers two her lips and whistled before calling "Hey Stoll!" Get your butt over here!" My half brother jogged over, the typical mischievous grin on his face. "What's up Green Arrow?" She rolled her eyes at the nickname and said "You probably know each other already but still: Percy. Travis. Travis. Percy. Good. Now do me a favor and get him back to the dining pavilion, alright?" "Why? Do it yourself." he answered. "We still have to clean this place up, so would you just…?" she said. He smirked. "What do I get for it?" I could tell Alex was one comment from his side away from making her bow reappear and turning Travis into her next target. Patience had never been one of her strong sides, so I jumped in. "Hey bro, ever wondered where I got that scar?" I said, pointing to an old scar on my left forearm. He frowned, irritated. "No. Why?" I just gestured at Alex. "That was the last time I made her angry." Travis gulped. "Eh, come on Percy! Let's go get some dinner!" And with that they were off. Alex smiled in satisfaction and as soon as they were out of earshot she turned to me. "You didn't get that scar from me." I smirked. "I know. And you know. But _he_ doesn't so – who cares?" She chuckled. "Nice idea." "But anyway" I said. "Since when do you lift one finger to clean this place up? Normally the Apollo cabin has the biggest trouble passing the inspection because of _you_." "Are you kidding me, I'm not gonna clean this place up, that's what we got the damn harpies for. And what can I say? Tidiness and all that crap just isn't my thing, you know that." "Then why-" "Because I wanted to talk to you. Alone." "Okay… About what?" She bit her lower lip, like she always did when she was nervous. "It's just… You pretty much zoned out there earlier and you looked… troubled. Almost pained. And honestly… I've seen that expression a lot on you lately. I'm worried about you. I'm getting the feeling there's something you're not telling me, but -" she put a hand on my shoulder and I just couldn't help but to lock eyes with her, a mixture of worry, pain, but also kindness swirling in hers. Three damn years and it still remained a mystery to us why our eyes were exactly alike. "- we're best friends. We should be able to tell each other _everything._ And we used to. You know every single detail out of my life, every secret –" I felt my every muscle tighten at the memory of the night she had shared her deepest and most painful secret with me "- and you can tell me everything. You know that, right?" And just for a moment, I was tempted to tell her. From what I'd done to what was about to happen, just… everything. But I couldn't. I couldn't drag her into all of this. At least not yet. Of course it would be great to have someone else on my side. So I wouldn't have to carry the burden all on my own anymore. But at the moment it was still too dangerous for her to know. And there was something else. I just was… scared. Maybe she wouldn't understand. If she'd turn her back on me… Maybe even hate me? I couldn't bear that. She was my best friend after all. Although there were these moments when I wished she would be a little more than that…

Anyway, she was still waiting for an answer. I simply smiled at her and said "Nah, don't worry. Just a lot going on lately. It's not so easy being the head counselor for a whole bunch of pranksters." She sighed. "Okay, if you say so." Then a smirk made its way onto her lips. "Race ya to the pavilion?" I smirked back at her. "Oh you're so going to lose this one, Singer."

**A/N: ok were making a lil time jump here, let's say abt 1-2 hrs, because I'm just way too lazy to describe dinner and the whole damn capture the flag game… **

By now, I'd come to hate almost everything at camp. Almost. Capture the flag was still one of my favorite wastes of time. Especially, when I won, like this time. As soon as my foot touched our territory the symbol on the flag turned into a caduceus. Chiron galloped out of the woods and blew the conch horn. The game was over. We'd won. The blue team erupted into cheers, chanting my name. They had no idea that the real party hadn't even started – The moment I'd met Percy, I knew there was something different about him. It didn't matter if he was the kid out of the prophecy or just some random half-blood. The one thing I knew was he posed a threat to what was coming – to the plans of my lord. He needed to be taken care of. And that's exactly what I did. And what was about to go down right now – the cheering of the campers died as soon as they heard the blood chilling growl ripping through the forest. Chiron shouted orders and everyone drew their weapon, including me. Can't risk attracting any attention by just standing there, while another camper gets torn apart by a hellhound, can I? Yet, before anyone could react, the monster that had just shown up charged. It knocked Percy over and buried it's claws into his chest. And still the next moment it fell on it's side – around a dozen arrows sticking out of his throat – and dissolved into nothing. I instantly found the cause for it – three Apollo kids with readied bows, led by their head counselor: Alex. I mentally cursed. I should've known they would take the hellhound down that fast. Especially because Alex had more than a dislike for those things. Couldn't blame her, after our last encounter with one three years ago. It wouldn't have been my first choice either, but when you summon underworld spawn inside the borders of a magically protected camp, you never know what you'll get. But it didn't really matter. It had done it's job. There was no way Jackson could have survived this. But when I turned my attention from the archers back to him, I couldn't believe what I was seeing: He was still standing! And as soon as he walked into the creek, the gashes on his chest sealed themselves up. "Look, I-I don't know why…" he tried to explain. He had no idea what was going on. I on the other hand, knew way too well. And a second later, the entire camp knew it too: Above Percy's head a green glowing trident appeared. All campers, even the Ares cabin knelt down. Reluctantly, I followed their example. "It is determined." Chiron announced. One quick look at Percy's face told me that he might me understanding what was going on, but he didn't want to believe it. "Poseidon." Chiron said. "Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God."

It couldn't have come any worse. Honestly, I had felt kinda sorry to send that monster after the kid, because he wasn't a bad guy at all. But now, it was like Chiron had said: It was determined. Percy was the child out of the Great Prophecy. Thinking this through again, it probably was a good thing the hellhound didn't kill him, because according to the prophecy, he could still join my cause. He could still be useful. But if not… well, I guess the kid will wish he would've died today…

**Here we go with chapter 2, I hope you liked it. Sorry for any spelling mistakes. As always reviews and opinions are highly appreciated!**

**One more thing I've been forgetting to write down here: story soundtrack. I'm probably gonna include some songs (maybe even in the actual story) but for now… well I dunno if it really counts, but when I was looking for a title to this "Saving Me" by Nickelback came up on my playlist so I thought: Why not? So if you want to listen to it, here a link to a lyric video: watch?v=l9S6KsWGI5A**


	3. Chapter 3: Betrayal

**Ok I wrote this at like 12am and it probably isn't one of the best chapters and also very short, but I knew it wasn't going to be that long even before I wrote it. But I needed some sort of a bridge between book 1 and 2. This is pretty much the last thing that happens during The Lightning Thief. Next chapter will be set in the Sea of Monsters. I know pretty big time jump, but everything that happened will be revealed later (as always). Patience! :D**

**So as always thanks to my new favs and follows:**

**UncreditedWriter**

**Percabeth Jackson**

**CynthiaAndromeda**

**Amber Harmonia**

**Elie546**

**Sooo actually I think title says it all…..**

Chapter 3: Betrayal

[Alex's POV]

It's been three days since Percy, Grover and Annabeth started their quest. I knew it was necessary, but I still didn't feel good about letting them go. Annabeth and Grover had been two of my best friends forever and I'd really become fond of Percy. He was a good person with a brave heart and he handled the whole 'son-of-Poseidon' thing pretty well. I just hoped that all of them would come back safely. It wasn't an easy quest, I had to admit that. Not that I knew a lot about quests, I've never been on one…

However, I tried everything to keep my mind off of my friends on a life threatening trip across the country. Luckily, my best friend was still in camp with me. And he was in a remarkably good mood. I had no idea why, but I couldn't care less. It had been months since he'd laughed so much – and had so much time for me. It was like he was trying to spend every free minute with me. Not that I was complaining – actually I more than enjoyed it – but I just couldn't figure out how he could be so cheerful all the time, when our friends probably were in a lot of danger…

At one point I just couldn't take it anymore and decided to ask him. We were sitting on a ledge a few feet above a little pond in the woods. It was our secret spot. We'd stumbled across it years ago, during capture the flag. Since then we always came here if we wanted some time just for the two of us – Gods, that sounded wrong! However, at the moment it was the middle of the night and we shouldn't even be there. If the harpies caught us, we'd be in one heck of a lot of trouble, but none of us cared.

I peeked through my bangs to take a glance at him and immediately felt my heart do little flips. His messy blond hair seemed to glow golden in the moonlight. He had a stunning smile on his face, very similar to the one he gave me when I first saw him. As always, the only thing unsettling about his appearance was his scar. But I never cared about that. To me he hadn't changed at all after he came back from his quest. At least not on the outside…

"Hey Luke, can I ask you something?" I said, turning to face him. "Sure." he said, directing his attention towards me. My question got stuck in my throat when I saw his eyes. They were like mine, yes, but still different somehow. And with the star- and moonlight dancing in them they seemed to shine even brighter than usual. Were even more beautiful. "I uh, well…" I mentally slapped and scolded myself: _'Gods, Alex, snap out of it! Stop acting like a damn fangirl!' _I shook my head slightly to clear my mind. "Well, I just wanted to know… How come you're so happy all the time, although our friends are on this dangerous quest?" His smile faded and he thought for a second before answering. "Because of you." "What?" It's just… I know how worried you are and it's not gonna help you if I freak out and drive myself crazy with worries as well." I just stared at him. "You… Really?" He smiled again. "'Course. You're my best friend so why wouldn't I do it?" A huge smile made its way onto my face and I threw my arms around him. Surprisingly, he didn't even flinch. He just hugged me back. "Thanks Luke." I whispered. "No problem, it's nothing special." he whispered back. I shook my head. "Fist of all: it is. And actually, I meant for everything you did for me." "What?" he asked. "It's just… I don't think I ever told you thank you for being my friend and always being there for me, just – everything. And how much you mean to me…" He pulled out of the hug to look at me. "What's gotten into you?" "I… don't know…" And I meant it. I had no idea why I was saying this right now. I just had this feeling that it might be my last chance…

He grinned at me. "Well and I don't care." Out of nowhere he pulled my head onto his chest and wrapped his arms around me. I let him (and was incredibly glad he couldn't see the vivid blush on my cheeks…) "I'll always be there for you, I promised you that, remember?" he said. I smiled. "Yeah. I do." Right then and there, I felt silly for what I said a couple of days ago. He wasn't hiding anything from me. I didn't have to worry about a single thing between us. I could completely trust him…

A few days later Annabeth and Grover came back. Percy did as well, after he'd returned the bolt to Olympus. They were celebrated like heroes and I was glad to have them back alive and in one piece. But something else bothered me: Luke. Ever since they returned his mood had done a 180. He always seemed to be angry and worst of all – avoid me as much as possible. I didn't even know why or what I did to upset him, but it was like we went from inseparable best friends to merely strangers. Every time I tried to talk to him, he'd say he's busy and walk away. It was breaking my heart.

And it was like that for the rest of summer. My last hope was that when only the year rounders were left, he'd maybe ease up a little and start talking to me again.

He always was in the arena on the last day of camp so that's where I went. But when I arrived, the arena was empty except for some slashed dummies. I walked back and decided it probably would be best to check on our favorite spot in the woods next. As I headed towards the tree line I saw a few people stumbling out of the forest. At closer inspection I could make out two dryads dragging a half conscious body between them. As I got even closer, I could see a mess of black hair and when the person in the dryads' arms lifted his head and I was able to see his face I nearly got a heart attack. "Percy!" I shouted and started to run. As soon as I reached them, the dryads let go – both of them weakened and in need to return to their trees for strength – and I barely caught him. I wasn't able to hold him up, so the both of us kind of crash landed on the ground. Then I started to scream for help. I didn't even know who was left at camp or who could hear me, but apparently someone had, because a conch horn echoed through the valley. I might be a skilled healer, but the wound on Percy's hand looked awful and he was already pale as death. And without _any _healing equipment there wasn't much I could do. My only chance was to figure out what had happened to him. "Percy, wha-what happened? Who did this?" He grabbed my sleeve and looked up at me, his green eyes full of pain. "Luke…" he croaked before passing out.

And with that my entire world collapsed around me…

**Okay that's it for now. Next update will probably be in my Christmas holidays. Also planning on posting two new stories, one of them for Percy Jackson, linked to this one. **

**As always R&R, comments and opinions are highly appreciated and wanted! :)**


	4. Chapter 4: Past and Present

**Ok as always first things first:**

**Thanks for all the new follows and favs**

**(I'm not going to write down every name anymore, it's nothing personal, actually it's me - I'm a lazy lil sh*t... Sorry...)**

**If you review its sth different, because you actually "talk" to me. So-**

**Thank you CynthiaAndromeda and Alice108009 for reviewing! It means a lot to me even if it just says "love it!" or "please update!" Although I wouldn't mind to know why you love it... ;P**

**!STH NEW AND THIS IS IMPORTANT!**

**I decided to make sth like a story soundtrack. That means I'll try to put a song for each chapter. Not only for this one, but for ALL of my stories. **

**Here how it's gonna work: I'll put some of the song lines before each chapter. If there aren't any, that either means:**

**- there will be a song included in the actual story, probably sung by one of the characters**

**- the song is instrumental**

**- I just couldn't come up with one**

**I'll always tell you title and interpreter of the song at the end of the chapter**

**Sorry the update took so long!**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 4: Past and Present

(1 year later)

_'You don't know how you've betrayed me_

_And somehow you've got everybody fooled...'_

[Alex POV]

I shot up from my sleep, barely catching the scream that rose in my throat. I took some long, deep breaths, but as usual that did little to calm me down. I took a look around the fire to see if I had woken up any of my friends. Luckily, they were still fast asleep. I stood up on shaky legs and made my way towards the trees that surrounded the clearing we were camping in. I needed some water and there was a little creak nearby. About a minute later I let myself fall to my knees on the shore and reached my hands into the cool clear water. I closed my eyes and splashed some of it into my face, my breathing finally slowing down. "Are you alright?" a voice from behind me suddenly asked. I ripped my celestial bronze dagger out of my boot and spun around facing whoever had spoken. I came face to face with a wide eyed half-blood boy, who had his hands up in surrender. I let out a sigh of relief and lowered my weapon. "Gods, Luke! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" I turned away from him and sat down on the shore. "Sorry." he said as he sat down next to me. "Why are you up?" he asked. "I could ask you the same." "I saw you getting up and wanted to see if you're ok." he answered. "So I repeat: "Are you alright?" I sighed. "Just a nightmare. Don't worry about it." "Don't worry about it? You're even paler than usual and look like you could pass out any second..." he stated. "I... It's nothing really. It's not the first time I had this dream. I know how to deal with it..." "What's the dream about?" he asked and put a hand on my shoulder. I flinched and scooted away from him. He furrowed his brows and gave me a confused look. My shoulders slumped, I closed my eyes and let out another sigh. "Sorry..." I muttered. It wasn't like I wanted to push him away, but... I just couldn't have anyone near me right now. Touching me. Especially not a boy... "It's... alright, I guess. So I take it, you don't wanna talk about it?" I shook my head. "It has nothing to do with you, it's just... I never told anyone about this - not that I ever HAD anyone to tell it to. And I often struggle to trust people so..." "Yeah, I know how that feels..." he said, making me look at him. He was staring out into the woods, obviously somewhere else with his mind. Then he shook his head and turned to me. "Ok listen, I know that we haven't known each other for very long and you don't have to believe this right now, but you can trust me." "Thanks, but I guess until I can actually say: 'I trust you' it's gonna take some time..." I answered. He shrugged. "That's ok. I'm just saying it. And if you ever want to talk about that dream, I'm here for you." I eyed him suspiciously. "You sure about that? It's not what you would call a happy story..." He let out a dry chuckle. "We're half-bloods. I wasn't expecting that." "Yeah, I guess you're right..." I said sadly. "You can go back to sleep. I know I won't be getting any tonight anyway..." I said. He thought for a second. "Nah. I would feel horrible if just left you sitting here all by yourself." I raised my eyebrows at him. "And why's that?" "Why did I risk my life to save you, although I could have gotten out of there without a scratch? To some questions, we'll never find an answer..." he said dramatically, making me laugh a little. "When did you start talking in riddles?" He grinned. "It's like you said: You don't know me very well yet. Maybe I always talk like that. Maybe I'm trying to annoy you. Or maybe I'm just trying to make you laugh." And that worked. I actually laughed. And it felt like the first time, in a really, really long time... "Well, I don't know about the first one, but the other two certainly worked!" Now he laughed as well. "Good, that's what I was hoping for." I smiled and ran a hand through my hair, my sleeve sliding just beneath my wrist. "Hey what's that?" he asked and grabbed my hand, turning it around so my palm was facing him. His eyes grew wide when he saw my wrist. I ripped my arm out of his hold and cradled it against my chest. "It... It's not what you think..." I said in a small voice, running my thumb over the scars. I heard him sigh. "I'm not thinking anything." I glanced at him. "Y-You're not?" "If you were a normal person with a normal life I would be, but with our way if living? No. Never." he answered. I gave him a weak smile. "Thanks. And... could you do me a favor and not tell the others?" "If you don't want me to, then I won't. But - you do know there's a high possibility that they're going to see it sooner or later?" "Yeah..." I said. He thought for a second. Than he snapped his fingers and I could practically see the light bulb going off over his head. "Got it." He rolled up his right sleeve, revealing a black leather bracelet. It was about three fingers wide and had silver twine patterns on it. He took it off and held it out for me to take. "It's not much and just for one wrist, but... It would help." I stared at him. "But... It's yours. I can't take that." "You're right, it's mine. That means I can do with it whatever I want. And I can give it it to whoever I want." he said and smiled at me. I smiled back. No one I had encountered in my life so far and been this nice to me. I reached for the bracelet but just before my fingers could touch it he pulled it out of my reach. I looked at him in confusion and almost expected him to say something like: 'I can't believe you fell for that!' What he actually said went pretty much into the opposite direction. "But - if you take it, you have to take something else from me too." "What?" "A promise. I promise you that - no matter if past, present or future - I'll always be there for you." "That's a pretty big promise you're offering to a girl you more or less just met...?" I said. He shrugged and smiled again. "So?" I smiled and took the bracelet from his hand.

I sat bolt upright, breathing hard and my bed sheets tangled around my legs. I gulped trying to regain my breath, while I felt the anger rising in me. Dreams that were actually true wasn't anything special for half-bloods. But normally they were about the future. But me? Of course I had to dream of the past. MY stupid past. Our stupid relationship. I looked down on my left wrist and hooked my fingers onto the leather, ready to rip it off. But at the last second I stopped and just stared at it. Just like all the other times in this past year. And it ended just the same. I let go of the bracelet, pulled my knees to my chest, rested my chin on it and sighed. "Are you alright?" someone asked, and for just a second I expected it to be Luke. But when I turned to the person, it was my half-brother, Lee Fletcher. After me, he was the oldest kid in the Apollo cabin. "I'm fine. Just didn't sleep so well..." I answered. "Nightmares?" he asked. "You could say so..." I muttered under my breath. "Well, it's time for breakfast, so if you wanna come...?" Just then I realized that we were the only people left in the cabin. "Uh, yeah sure. I'll be right there." "Ok. I'll see you in the pavilion." he said and left. I took a deep breath and forced myself to smile. That was the mask I had kept up for the last year. Just smile and tell everyone you're ok. Even if you're feeling utterly empty inside...

"C'mon Percy! Show her who's the best!" I shouted as I watched him and Clarisse battle on the obstacle tower. "You think he has a chance?" Annabeth asked. "I don't know. He's out of practice. But I just want someone to show this inflated daughter of Ares that she can't win every-" I was interrupted by a scream and turned my head to the tower just in time to see Percy hit the ground. Hard. Next to me Anmabeth cringed. "Ouch..." I looked up the tower to see Clarisse give a victorious smirk as she continued climbing. "Oh no you don't!" I growled as I ran towards the tower and just as I reached the first beam to grab, Annabeth shouted: "What are you doing?!" "Teaching someone a lesson!" I shouted back. Clarisse had been a pain in my ass for the last year. Not only did she think she was the best in everything, she also saw it as her duty to convince everyone at camp that I was a spy for the titans. And all of that just because Luke had been my best friend...

I was sick of it and at least wanted to shut her up once.

I had been so lost in my thoughts that I nearly got hit by one of the moving parts of the tower. I quickly let myself drop to my knees. "I always hated this thing..." I muttered. With a few more good placed grips I reached the top.

My dad might not be the sky god himself, but it was still his field of activity. That made his kids very light-footed and quick, what certainly served to my advantage here.

I ripped the ring - the prize, you could say - out of its attachment. The next second I had to duck to avoid a punch thrown at me be a certain daughter of the war god. I smirked and held up the ring. "Looking for this?" She narrowed her eyes and came towards me. "Yeah. And if you wanna keep your teeth, you're gonna hand it over." I took a few steps backwards until I reached the end of the platform we were standing on. "So you think you have me cornered, huh? With no way out? Trapped?" She smirked evilly and said: "Unless you wanna jump, yes I do." I took a look behind me to see all the other campers staring up at us, then I looked down. Roughly, a 35 feet drop. I turned my attention back to Clarisse. "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you - or actually: No, I'm not." I smirked and gave her a mock salute before doing a backflip off the platform. Two seconds later I landed safely on the ground on both my feet. I heard gasps go through the crowd before they erupted into cheers. I looked up to see Clarisse staring down at me with a furious expression. Next thing I knew, Percy and Annabeth were next to me, their arms around my shoulders. "Alex that was amazing!" Percy said. "How did you do that?" Annabeth asked. "That's my secret." I said winking at her. But actually the answer wasn't that complicated. I told you being a kid of Apollo had its perks. And this... Well this was just one of MY perks, like the whole 'making-a-bow-appear-out-of-nowhere' thing. "Oh c'mon tell me!" Annabeth complained. I chuckled, that was typical for her. Always wanting to now how things worked. I was about to refuse when I heard a pretty angry voice call: "Singer!" 'Oh great, just what I need now...' I thought, rolled my eyes and turned to face Clarisse. "What is it LaRue?" "You cheated! I want a rematch!" "Gods, just because someone is better than you, you automatically think they cheated?" I asked and ran a hand through my hair. And that was when I noticed my bare left wrist. "Where...?" I wondered out loud. "Looking for this?" Clarisse said, holding up my bracelet. "Give it back!" I growled and tried to snatch it from her. She stepped back, getting out of my reach. "Why should I?" "What do you want from me, for crying out loud?! Do you want the prize of this stupid training? Here take it!" I threw her the ring. "I don't care about it! I mean what did I ever do to you?!" "Oh you know exactly what you did! Or more of what you're doing! What you are!" she shouted. By now a crowd had formed around us, watching us like vultures. "Oh yeah? Then please enlighten me, because I have no idea what you're talking about!" "You're a spy! A traitor! Just like your beloved Luke!" That was the point when my temper got the better of me. With two steps I crossed the distance between me and Clarisse and punched her square in the face. She fell onto her back, but as soon as she hit the ground I picked her up by the collar, our faces now mere inches away from another. "Ok, listen up now LaRue, and listen carefully, because I'm only gonna say this once: Stay. Out. Of. My. Life. You don't know anything about me, so just shut your arrogant mouth. If I ever hear you talking bad about me or any of my friends again, you'll get to know me. But certainly not the way you'd like to..." I let go of her, grabbed my bracelet and stormed away, the crowd hurrying to part to let me trough. I went to my cabin and threw myself onto my bed, curling up into a little ball. I pressed the bracelet to my chest and felt hot tears streaming down my face. I was crying. In all the time since Luke had left, I hadn't cried once. But now I just couldn't take it anymore. Everything came crashing down on me: the fact that everyone accused me to be a spy, the treason of my best friend and, that despite everything that happened, I was still hopelessly in love with him. And with all of that going through my mind I fell asleep.

I woke up when the entire cabin started to shake. I was still alone and felt like I'd barely slept an hour but when I took a look through the window, I saw the sun setting. The cabin shook again and I heard screaming and explosions. I ran outside and the area around the cabins was fine, but when I looked towards the heart of the camp I saw smoke billowing into the sky and fires burning here and there. I immediately made my bow and arrows appear and sprinted towards the Big House. When I reached the courtyard I gasped. The place was a battlefield. Machine parts were strewn everywhere. Then I saw someone lying on the floor. I realized with shock that the person was Percy. "Percy! What ha-" I cut myself off when I rounded a corner and saw another person was with him. When the person turned to face me, I nearly dropped my bow to the ground.

"Luke...?" I breathed. And just for a second I thought I actually saw sadness and regret in his features. But the next moment his face was free of any emotion and he turned to Percy. "Think about it." Then he vanished in a flash of green light. I just stood there, frozen to the spot, not able to move an inch. I felt completely paralyzed. I snapped out of it when Percy started to cough. I ran to his side to check if he was alright. Luckily, he only had a few scratches. "Percy, what happened?" "A Colchis Bull. He got through the barrier and attacked." he said weakly. "How did he get trough the barrier? That's impossible!" I exclaimed. "I don't know..." Percy admitted. Then realization hit both of us. The only way the barrier could get weaker was if... We both turned to Thalia's pine tree just in time to see it turning brown. "Oh no..." I whispered. I thought life in camp had been hard so far. But now it would turn into hell...

**"Everybody's Fool" by Evanescence**

**And during the scene with the obstacle tower I suggest you the song out of the movie**

**"My Songs know what you did in the Dark (Light 'em up)" by Fall Out Boy **

**Speaking of the movie: I'm doing a lil mix between movie and book. At least until some point, probably until they board the Princess Andromeda. After that the movie went pretty much down hill if you ask me... (*cough-rise of Kronos, are you people serious?!*cough)**

**And I don't know if it was confusing or sth, but the beginning was Alex dreaming about her time on the run with Luke and the others, not long after he saved her. Maybe 2-3 weeks I'd say.**

**Sorry for any mistakes!**

**That's it for now folks! **

**Will update ASAP! :)**


	5. Chapter 5: Quests and Requests

**Oh my gosh, I am so sorry! School's been a freakin black whole, sucking in everything in it's reach, including my time. Luckily most of my exams are as good as over so hopefully I'll be able to update a little more. **

**Next, thank you TheRealTayler13, FullMoonWerewolf and Alice108009 for reviewing! 3**

**Sorry for any mistakes and that it's not so long.**

**As always reviews/opinions are highly appreciated/wanted! :)**

**And one more little thing I love to call "shameless self promotion":**

**If there are any Narnia Fans amongst the readers of this story, please go and check out my story for it: "The King and the Slave Girl (Love in Narnian Times Book 1)"**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 5: Quests and Requests

_'No one ever lied straight to your face,_

_And no one ever stabbed you in the back...'_

[Alex POV]

"We need a quest! We need a quest!" the entire camp chanted. After the attack of the Colchis Bull, the poisoning of Thalia's tree and now the thing with the Stymphalian Birds during the chariot race, even Tantalus and Mr. D saw, that something needed to be done. "Alright, alright, you little brats want a quest?" Mr. D shouted. "Fine with me! If I get lucky, I might just loose some of you with that... But still! The only thing powerful enough to save the camp - is the Golden Fleece. And as far as I know, it was lost in the sea of monsters - or the Bermuda Triangle, as the mortals call it - centuries ago. So for this quest, we only can send our finest hero!" Of course I knew who that hero was. After what he did last year it only could be him. "Clarisse!" Mr. D exclaimed and my jaw hit the floor, while the rest of the campers started to cheer. He had to be kidding! He couldn't be serious! One look at Percy and Annabeth told me that they were thinking the exact same thing. But what could we do? Chiron was gone and Mr. D was as stubborn as a mule and on top of that a really bad choice to mess with. And not that my opinion mattered around here anymore, anyway... So the three of us watch helplessly as Clarrise trudged off towards the Big House to receive her prophecy.

"You're going anyway, aren't you?" I asked, as I found Percy, Annabeth and Tyson at the gates of the camp in the middle of the night, making all three of them jump. When Percy saw it was just me, he let out a relieved sigh. "Of course we are." I chuckled. "Yeah I didn't expect anything else. Although, I actually expected you to at least ASK me if I want to come with you. What I do, by the way." Percy quickly averted his gaze to the ground. "Well, I thought about it, but... I just... I don't think-" "It's because of what Clarisse has been saying, isn't it? The whole traitor thing?" I asked. At that accusation his head snapped up, his eyes growing wide. "What? No! That's not it! You know me. Since when do I give a crap about what Clarisse is saying? It's just... I'm pretty sure that were gonna run into Luke on this quest" - I watched Annabeth tighten visibly at that - "and you two were pretty close after all and I just didn't want you to get hurt." he explained. I sighed. "Percy, I get it. But I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself. And I can help you. From all of us I'm the best fighter, you know that." He tought for a second, then smiled. "Looks like we have one more person who's gonna be expelled from camp forever." So together we walked out of camp, knowing that we'll probably never get back. As soon as we reached the street beneath Half-Blood hill, Annabeth pulled out a drachma out of her pocket, spoke some words in Ancient Greek and threw the coin onto the pavement, which immediately sunk into it. A few moments later a car materialized out of pure shadows, although it looked pretty much like a New York City cab. "You three again?" the three old ladies in the front exclaimed at the sight of my friends. "Yeah, us again. And we need another transport." Annabeth said annoyed. "Uh guys? Where exactly are we going? The Bermuda Triangle isn't so small, you know..." I said. "Sure, but we'll just start off in Miami." Annabeth answered. I nodded in agreement and the four of us got into the cab. And with that, one hell of a ride began...

And when I say, one HELL of a ride, I mean freaking literally! You see, I'm as far away from "free from giddiness" as possible, so during the ride I had the biggest trouble keeping my dinner in. I barely noticed the three drivers telling Percy something about the Great Prophecy. I did notice it though when Annabeth whispered "We don't have enough drachmas..." and the drivers did a full braking. "What?!" they screeched. "What do you think we are?! A charity?!" And with that we got catapulted out of the cab, crash landing on the pavement. I stumbled to my feet - still dizzy from the ride - and took in my surroundings. "Lemme guess" I said "We're not even in Florida yet, right?" "Washington." Annabeth said, while Percy was trying to stop Tyson from calling out to Zeus in front of the White House. "What are we gonna do now?" I asked. "I dunno." Annabeth admitted. "We could use some help..." I ran a hand through my hair, thinking about a way out if this dilemma. And that was when a shop on the opposite side of the street caught my attention. "I think I know someone who might be able to help us..." I said and ran towards the shop, calling over my shoulder "Come on you guys!" As we reached the door Percy asked: "What are we doing at a UPS store?" I grinned at him, pointing up at the sign. "Read again, Mr. Dyslexia." Then I opened the door, some old lady just coming out, and surprisingly enough I found the person I was looking for right behind the counter. "Hermes?" I said and he turned around to face me. "Wait... THAT'S Hermes?" Percy whisper-shouted, still loud enough to hear. "'Course. What god did you expect behind the Olympian Parcel Service?" Hermes said, sounding a tad offended. "Well, I uhm..." Percy stuttered but I immediately cut him off. "Not now. Hermes, I'm sorry to disturb you, but we need your help." Hermes raised his brows at me. "MY help? With what, if I may ask?" "Well, we're on a quest to save camp and for that we need a way to the sea of monsters. And right now, we're kinda stuck here so I thought maybe you could help us out somehow?" He thought for a moment, his expression impossible to read. Then he looked at me again and nodded. "I might be. Follow me." he walked before the counter, across the room and through a door in the back. Not only did his OPS uniform change into a fancy suit when he did the last, but the room we entered wasn't just some small storage room. Instead, it was a huge factory, machines moving all around the place and all of us had to duck several times to avoid getting hit my some mechanic arms. In the mean time, one of the employees had brought Hermes his caduceus and out of nowhere the god stopped in his tracks, nearly making me bump into him. "The sea of monsters, you said my dear?" he asked as he turned around to me. I nodded. "Well, if you want to succeed with your quest, I think you could need a few things." "Things like rats?" a hissing voice said out of nowhere. "George, we have guests and all you think about are rats! Be little more polite!" another obviously female voice hissed back. "What was that?" Percy asked confused and I simply pointed to the caduceus. He looked down and immediately jumped back a good foot at seeing the two living snakes. "Those things are ALIVE?!" he exclaimed. "First of all: we are living creatures and no things" Martha said offended. "And of course we are alive! Or do you think this guy over here would get anything done without us?" "Okay, that's enough for now." Hermes said and turned the two snakes solid again, while I was trying not to laugh at the shocked expressions of my friends. I had met Hermes and his two sidekicks before, so there was no reason for me to freak out. "As I was saying, you four are going to need help." he snapped his fingers and a metallic claw came down between us holding something that looked like a thermos. "Open this, and you'll release the winds of the four corners of the earth." he explained and handed it to Annabeth, who immediately started to twist the cap. "Not in here!" Hermes shrieked and she nearly dropped the thermos to the floor. Hermes shook his head a little and muttered "Daughter of Athena, uh-huh..." Of course he received a venomous glare from Annabeth's side for that. He handed us some magical multivitamins, tape that could dissolve things and bag packs with money, supplies, etc. "That's all great and stuff, but... You still didn't tell us who we're supposed to even get there?" I said. "Because I'm not the one who's going to get you to the sea of monsters." I furrowed my brows in confusion. "I will help you, but I request something little in return." he said. 'Of course...' I thought. 'You can't ask a god for a favor, without having to do something in return...' "I want you to talk to my son." Hermes said and I froze. "And at the same time, he will be your ticket to the triangle." "You... You want us to talk to Luke?" Percy asked. "Yes and no." Hermes answered. I stared at him. "You maybe want to elaborate?" "I don't want YOU as in, all of you to talk to him." His gaze came to rest on me and my eyes grew wide. "Uhm, and what the hell am I supposed to tell him?" I asked. He turned his attention to my three friends. "Do you guys mind to leave us alone for a minute?" "Uh no, of course not. We'll wait outside." Annabeth answered and made her way to the door, the two boys on her coat-tails. As soon as they were gone, Hermes said "I want you to give him a message from me." "What kind of message?" I asked. He took a deep breath. "Tell him... Tell him everybody makes mistakes. Even gods. And especially fathers. Tell him I know I'm everything than perfect and that, if there's one thing I learned in all of my years, it's that you can't give up on family. No matter what." "And what makes you think he's going to listen to me?" I asked and I saw the hint of a smile cross his face for a second. "If he's going to listen to anybody - than its you." he answered. "What makes you so sure about that?" I actually thought I had known Luke, but obviously I hadn't. And now his father wanted me to talk sense into the guy who betrayed me and broke my heart. Wonderful.

Hermes snapped his fingers again and another metallic claw came down from the roof with a folded, yellowed paper, which he handed to me. I was about to unfold it, but he stopped me. "Don't read it now. You'll know when to do so. And when you do, you'll know why I'm so sure that you're the one who can save my son..." I looked into his eyes and saw that he really meant what he said. He wanted to save him... I put the paper into the inner pocket of my jacket and gave Hermes a nod. "I'll do my best." He smiled at me and than handed me something that looked like a bean. "Here. It will transport you to Miami. That's as far as I can get you. You'll find his ship docked at the port." I nodded in understanding, said my good-byes to Hermes and followed my friends, my thoughts starting to race. Not only did I abandon my only home for a quest that seemed hopeless, now I was more or less being forced into the reunion I had been scared of for months. I was supposed to tell him calmly that his dad loved him and what not, though he would probably blow up at me at the mention of his father. And that while I was actually in the mood to blow up at him and give him some serious piece of my mind. Hermes thought because of whatever reason that I could help him. I highly doubted it. With everything he did, I couldn't imagine that he thought about what it would do to me for just a second. I had lost my best friend, my trustworthiness at camp and probably the ability to trust anyone ever again. I always thought everything that had happened in my life had made it pretty miserable, but it was no comparison to how I felt now. And as I stepped outside the store to meet up with my friends I thought: 'Welcome to your life, Alex...'

**"Welcome to my Life" by Simple Plan (one of my fav songs EVER! 3)**


End file.
